Minnesota

The St. Paul, Minn. City Council advanced plans to provide a $17 million subsidy for a new St. Paul Saints ballpark.

Minnesota closed out fiscal 2012 on June 30 with $336 million more in revenue than predicted when the annual February forecast was released.

Minneapolis-based Northland Securities Inc. has hired veteran municipal professional James Kubik to help lead its expansion in the central states region.

Moody's Investors Service downgraded Hennepin County, Minn.'s first lien sales tax revenue bond credit to Aa1 from Aaa in connection with the agency's new rating methodology for debt backed by special tax revenues.

Moody's Investors Service has lowered the Duluth, Minn., Independent School District No. 709's underlying general obligation rating to Baa1 from A1 ahead of its upcoming new-money debt issuance. The agency also assigned a negative outlook to the credit.

The new Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, which will own and operate the new partially bond-financed Vikings stadium, held its first meeting on Friday and picked Ted Mondale as its chief executive officer.

Fairview Health Services got hit with a downgrade from Moody’s Investors Service and a warning of further negative action due to fiscal 2011 operating losses and potential fallout from the state attorney general’s probe into its bill collection practices.

The public agency that operates the Edward Jones Dome last week shot down the St. Louis Rams’ counterproposal for renovations to its stadium.

Fitch Ratings has upgraded Olmsted Medical Center’s rating one notch to BBB-plus from BBB in recognition of the Minnesota hospital’s strong financial performance.

CHICAGO — The Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities of Minnesota enters the market this week and returns later in the month with more than $400 million of new-money and refunding general obligation bonds that offer investors top-rated tax-exempt and taxable paper.

The Minneapolis City Council signed off on funding plans for a new $975 million Minnesota Viking stadium downtown. The 7-6 vote came one day after a council committee advanced the financing package by the same vote.

CHICAGO — In a narrow vote, Minneapolis City Council members gave preliminary approval to a plan to use existing sales and hospitality taxes to fund the city’s $150 million share of a new $975 million stadium for the Minnesota Vikings.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton on Monday signed legislation providing public funding for a new $975 million stadium for the National Football League’s Minnesota Vikings.

Minnesota Women in Public Finance will host its first annual meeting and conference on Thursday.

CHICAGO — The Mayo Clinic took retail orders Tuesday on $200 million of revenue bonds and will open the sale to institutional buyers Wednesday as it finances various capital projects, including a new proton beam therapy center at its flagship campus in Rochester, Minn.

Minnesota House Republicans, who hold a majority, last week released a scaled-down version of Gov. Mark Dayton’s proposed capital budget known as the bonding bill package.

Moody’s Investors Service has taken the positive outlook off of St. Paul’s Aa1 rating ahead of the city’s sale later this month of $16 million of new-money general obligation debt.

Advancing a project long in the works, President Obama signed legislation last week allowing for construction of the St. Croix River bridge connecting Minnesota and Wisconsin by exempting the project from federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act restrictions.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation released a revised cost estimate of $626 million on building the St. Croix River Crossing bridge project.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton unveiled plans for a new $975 million Vikings stadium in downtown Minneapolis that relies on a team contribution and local and state funds.